The peace treaty between Israel and Jordan found the Arava desert ecosystem, shared by the two countries, in a state of developmental dichotomy. On the Israeli side, vast lands have been settled and transformed into agricultural fields, while the Jordanian side has remained relatively intact and inhabited by only a few traditional and pastoral societies. This study examined the effect of different landscape units and proximity to agriculture on different taxonomic groups on both sides of the border. In addition, during the course of the study, four master’s degree students have completed research projects that were an outcome of preliminary results found in this study, and support the outcome of the core study which dealt with the diversity of species in the Arava valley.  

 

It appears that in addition to the effect of proximity to agricultural fields and landscape habitat, the border between the two countries may play a role in determining diversity on the respective sides. While reptile abundance was generally higher on the Israeli side of the border, diversity was found to be significantly higher on the Jordanian side. Rodent community structure also revealed significant differences between the two sides of the border, mainly due to the more favorable conditions for psammophilic gerbils in Jordan. The study of Antlions showed a surprising effect of gazelles protection across the border and how the protection of one species may affect other organisms.

 

When comparing Western society with pastoral traditional society, it appears that development activities of the former have altered diversity and community structure of the taxa studied in the Arava. Therefore we recommend that protection measures in Jordan should be applied to ungulates especially in places where local grazing is prohibited. The current study did not find a specific landscape among the four landscape studied that should be favored for future development. It shows how each of the LUs is unique, and emphasizes that sandy habitats, whether they form a dune structure or not, should be treated with care, especially on the Israeli side where they are scarce. This project required full cooperation across the border. The master thesis projects brought the cooperation measures to the students level, and required cross border visits and personal long-term contacts. This mutual trust and the personal relationships are the basis for current preparation of future projects.